Task force looks for ways to make crossings safer

Updated 9:12 pm, Thursday, December 15, 2011

Students cross White Street in Danbury at a popular crossing spot in front of Western Connecticut State University recently. The nearest crosswalks are on either ends of the block.

Students cross White Street in Danbury at a popular crossing spot in front of Western Connecticut State University recently. The nearest crosswalks are on either ends of the block.

Photo: Michael Duffy

Task force looks for ways to make crossings safer

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DANBURY -- A task force charged with improving pedestrian safety along White Street is considering everything from a new traffic light on the roadway to illuminating the crosswalks.

The White Street Task Force was created two weeks ago in response to the hit-and-run death of Dong Lin, the 19-year-old Western Connecticut State University student who was struck while crossing White Street shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 22.

During their first meeting recently, task force members held an informal brainstorming session to come up with ideas about how to make the road safer.

"There were a lot of good ideas that came up during the meeting, but everyone is keeping an open mind about what might work and what might not," said task force member Steven Rosentel, the president of Leahy's Fuels on White Street.

Members stressed that they are only in the ideas stage and nothing has been voted on.

"The general feeling was that this isn't something that should go on for awhile," said Paul Steinmetz, interim vice president of institutional advancement, who attended the meeting. "We need to get some ideas and pursue them."

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Ideas discussed in a recent brainstorming session include installing a new traffic light and fencing, illuminating crosswalk areas, raising crosswalks to slow traffic, changing the locations of crosswalks and efforts to educate pedestrians and motorists.

Wayne Shepperd, the city's mayoral chief of staff and a member of the task force, said the group may undertake a study to determine where university students typically tend to cross the street.

"There seems to be too many options right now," he said, adding that there are five crosswalks in the area surrounding the university.

Shepperd added, however, that any solution to the problem will likely be a combination of several ideas.

"There are a lot of possibilities and potential solutions," Rosentel said. "I am confident that we'll be able to develop some recommendations that can be implemented."

Several members of the task force said public input will also be an important part of the process.

"Some people out there might have ideas we haven't thought about yet," Rosentel said.

Members of the task force hope to hold another meeting within the next two weeks.

While no arrests have been made yet in the hit-and-run case, Capt. Thomas Wendel, a police spokesman, said police have a suspect who is cooperating with the investigation.

He added that fatal motor vehicle accidents are often some of the most complex investigations typically undertaken by departments, and some can take as long as six months to complete.